Addis Ababa, Jun 9
(Prensa Latina) The United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF) reported today that 88 Ethiopian children, kidnapped last April by armed men in South Sudan have been rescued and have returned home safety.
The children were victims of a cross-border attack on April 15, 2016, when thousands of members of a South Sudanâ�Ös militia group armed with machine guns, raided 13 villages in Nuer and Anyuak zones of Ethiopiaâ�Ös Gambella region where they killed 216 people.
The attackers also kidnapped 136 minors, with the alleged purpose of using them as pastors.
According to the agency, negotiations continue for the release of other 58 children still captive.
The majority of the children are between three and five years old. Many looked very distraught and dazed,” said Sacha Westerbeek of Unicef Ethiopia, adding that “They have seen people killed in front of their eyes. You can see the fear in the eyes.”
Five of the rescued children are suffering from malnutrition, including a six-month-old baby who was fed cow’s milk instead of breast milk after being abducted, informed Westerbeek.
The unprecedented nature of the April raid led the Ethiopian army to cross the border to look for the children after the attack, in which more than 3,000 livestock were also taken.
Source – Prensa Latina